Beaulieu International Group (BIG) has released their annual and sustainability reports, titled “Here.We.Go” and “Shaping sustainable living, together” respectively.
According to the press release by BIG, offering sustainable flooring and material solutions will be the number one priority for the coming years.
“We fully realise that the road ahead is still long and bumpy, but if there is one thing we have learned in recent years, it is this: the greatest threat to our planet is thinking that someone else will save it. Today, we feel ready and equipped to take on our responsibility,” said Pol Deturck, CEO of BIG.
BIG’s vision is to build a better future by reducing their carbon footprint to zero, taking care of their people and those around them, and doing business in a transparent, integer way. This thus translate to their sustainability goal: “Shaping sustainable living, together”.
Deturck added: “By 2030, together with a broad group of suppliers, stakeholders and partners, we want to be the leader in sustainable flooring and material solutions. Specifically, our future value proposition is based on products and services that are environmentally and climate friendly, circular and offered by talented, innovative people with an emphasis on integrity and respect for values. This results more in a recurring value proposition for the future.”
2022 ambitions
Beyond sustainability, BIG reports that it will be targeting over €100 million in investments for 2022, as Pieter-Jan Sonck, CFO of BIG, explained: “The ambition for 2021 was to invest over €100m. But we were held back by external, unforeseen factors: from delays on quotes and execution to the lack of availability and resources due to the pandemic. If all goes as planned, we’ll make up for it in 2022 with an investment budget well over €100m. The main areas of interest will be sustainability, innovation and Industry 4.0.”
Some of the more concrete initiatives that BIG implemented in 2021 were their new platform for customer relationship management, the acceleration of digital solutions into their operations and the launch of the BIG University offering learning trajectories for their people.
Turnover
In 2021, BIG reported a turnover of €2.5 billion, an increase of 45% compared to 2020. The group’s EBITDA amounted to €451m, an increase of 120% compared to 2020 and a net result of €274m, a growth of 215% compared to 2020.
The driving forces for this growth are: favourable market conditions, a revitalised growth strategy and a team of nearly 5,000 first-class employees, according to BIG.
Furthermore, BIG was able to withstand against pandemic shocks with their integrated business model, being able to mitigate major supply chain risks with its vertical integration, while also balancing out local market dynamics with their geographical presence.
Business units
As for the results of individual business units, BIG reported that their business unit, Polymers, stood out because strong demand in Europe and North America. The raw material shortages and unplanned shutdowns of competitors also pushed prices and margins up to historical highs.
The group’s Flooring Solutions unit also fared well, with most divisions and regions outperforming amid surging energy prices, disrupted supply chains, cost volatility in transport and raw materials, and other challenges. The achievements by Engineered Solutions echo those of the other two business units, from volume increases to budget increases.
